Ultrasounds and Engagements
by Neuropsych
Summary: (COMPLETE) Doctor's appointments, lunches and one black lab who's been left behind... (rated for some medical discussions, but probably not so bad)
1. 01

**Ultrasounds and Engagements**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything I didn't make up. Everything I made up, though, I claim as mine. So ask before you use it, eh?

_Author's Note: This takes place sometime between Christmas and New Year's and as near as I can figure Sam is in her 19th week of pregnancy – give or take a few days. There shouldn't be any death, destruction or mayhem and the rating can probably be PG, but since you never know, it's better that I err on the side of caution. Okay, there might be a little mayhem. That said; let's see where it goes…_

OOOOOOOOOOO

"Daniel!"

Daniel Jackson, who had been on his way to the elevator, stopped and turned, and saw Jack O'Neill and Jaffer coming toward him at a fast walk.

"Hey, Jack."

"Just the man I wanted to see… Got a minute?"

Which immediately raised warning bells in Daniel's head.

"Um… actually, I'm kind of running behind –"

"What are you doing for the next few hours?" Jack asked him, ignoring the answer.

"Why?"

"Funny you should ask…" Jack gave him his best sincere look. "Remember all those favors you owe me?"

"All the favors _I_ owe _you_?"

"Good! You do." Jack smiled. "I need a favor. And then we can call it even."

Warning bells were just clanging, now. Daniel looked at his watch, frowning.

"Um… what kind of favor, Jack?"

"I need you to watch Jaffer for a few hours."

"Jaffer?"

Daniel looked down at the black lab, who looked up at him, his brown eyes cheerfully regarding him as his tail wagged idly. Oh, sure, he looked innocent _now_, but Daniel knew there were little horns hidden under that thick winter coat.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because we have a doctor's appointment, and I can't take him with me."

"_We_?"

"Me and Sam."

"Is she okay?"

Jack nodded.

"It's an ultrasound – to make sure everything's where it's supposed to be – and maybe see what sex the baby is. Which means Jaffer can't come."

"Jack, I'd love to watch Jaffer for you, but I'm having lunch with Sally."

"Sally likes Jaffer."

"But-"

"Come on, Daniel. It's you or Fraiser, and you know what she said about dog-sitting him."

"Something about hell freezing over, as I recall…"

"Yeah."

"Where's Teal'c?"

"At Andrew's for the week."

"What about the kennels where the other guard dogs are?"

"The regular guys are all on leave for the holidays, and I can't just leave him locked up in a cage…"

No, of course not. Daniel knew Jack would rather cut off his arm than treat Jaffer like a regular dog. Of course, there was always the chance that Jaffer would simply tear down the fencing trying to get loose, too.

"Jack…"

"Daniel, come on… he'll be good for you. He likes you."

Jaffer liked everyone, but that didn't mean he was going to be good for him, and Daniel knew it. But he sighed, because Jack _didn't_ ask for a lot of favors, and it wasn't like he was asking for a kidney.

"Fine, I'll watch him."

"Great!"

Jack pulled Jaffer's leash out of his pocket and handed it to Daniel, who looked down at Jaffer again.

"Has he had lunch?"

"Of course. But if you're eating, you might give him a nibble of whatever you're having."

Yeah, of course… just a nibble...

"When are you going to be done?"

"No clue. Depends on the doctor – and the baby. Will you have your cell phone?"

"Yeah. Or Sally's."

"I'll call when we get out of the doctor's office and meet you wherever you are."

"Okay."

Jack knelt down in front of Jaffer and grabbed the lab by the head, giving him an affectionate scratch.

"You be good, little man."

Jaffer rumbled a happy growl deep in his throat and tried to lick Jack's face, but O'Neill was ready for that and dodged him. Standing up, he straightened his jacket.

"There's a couple of bags of treats for him in the bottom drawer of my desk – and a chew toy if you need it. There's also-"

"Jack."

They both turned and saw Sam coming towards them, and Jaffer launched himself down the hall, his tail wagging excitedly – even though he'd seen her only ten minutes before. He stopped, but not soon enough, and crashed into her legs, but Sam had been expecting it and had braced herself for the collision, then smiled and stroked the lab's side before walking over to the two men standing by the elevator door.

"Did you ask him?"

"Yeah, he said he'd watch him."

Sam gave Daniel a brilliant smile – and Daniel felt his knees turning to goo. As her pregnancy progressed, she just got prettier and prettier, and he'd heard about that whole glowing thing, but hadn't believed in it until he saw Sam.

"Thanks, Daniel."

"My pleasure, Sam."

And it was just then.

"We'd better get going," Jack said, slapping Jaffer's side once more. "No chocolate."

"I know, Jack."

The elevator door opened and Jack and Sam got in, leaving Daniel and Jaffer standing in the hallway. When the door closed, the archeologist looked down at the black lab, wondering what Jaffer was making of being left behind. The lab stared at the door, obviously waiting for Jack to realize he'd been left behind, and he whined softly when it never opened.

"Don't worry, Jaffer," Daniel said, reaching down and stroking the silky black hide. "You still have me."

He snapped the leash on the lab's collar and headed down the hall, but was stopped almost immediately. Jaffer hadn't moved from the elevator doorway and didn't look like he was planning on it.

"Come on, Jaffer…"

Daniel tugged experimentally on the leash, but the lab simply lowered his ears and moved his head backwards, pulling against the tugging.

Lovely.

Daniel looked at his watch.

"Come on, Jaffer… please?"

Jaffer looked back at the elevator door, waiting for Jack.

"We'll go get you a treat," Daniel said. "And I'll buy you a burger…"

The big head turned back to Daniel, the brown eyes watching him, now, and Daniel felt a little hope.

"A double burger," he promised. "And two treats."

The tail wagged a little, but the dog still didn't move.

"Three treats… and French fries."

Yeah, that was fair. Jaffer rumbled deep in his chest and headed down the hallway with Daniel towards Jack's office.


	2. 02

After a quick stop in Jack's office to grab both bags of treats from the bottom of the desk drawer – and to feed a few of them to Jaffer to keep his end of the bargain – Daniel and the black lab went back to the elevators, the lab still on his leash since Daniel wasn't all that positive Jaffer would go where he wanted him to go without it. Jack never needed a leash, but Daniel preferred to have it, since Jaffer was now his responsibility, and he would never allow anything to happen to the lab while Jack had trusted him to his care.

"How did you manage to steal Jaffer from Colonel O'Neill?" One of the Marines at the first checkpoint asked, looking amused to see Daniel with the dog. Especially since it was well known on base that Daniel had a ton of allergies and Jaffer was one of them – although not the worst.

"Just lucky, I guess," Daniel said, passing through the checkpoint and waving to them. He was running late, now, and while Sally was very forgiving, he didn't want to press his luck.

He and Jaffer went through the rest of the security stops with everyone asking almost the exact same question – or variations of it – but they finally made it to Daniel's car. The archeologist opened the back door in obvious invitation, and Jaffer hopped up easily into the back seat – making the car look positively tiny.

"I'll roll the window down for you in a minute," Daniel promised, making sure Jaffer's head and tail were both clear of the door before he slammed it closed. Then he got into the front seat and started the car, reaching for his cell phone and the window controls at the same time.

Sally answered on the second ring, just as Jaffer was sticking his head out of the now open window.

"Hello?"

"Hi. It's me."

"You're not coming?"

"Of course I'm coming…" Daniel told her, smiling even though there was no one to see it but Jaffer, who wasn't paying attention. "I'm just behind."

"But that's so unlike you…"

He smiled at the sarcasm in her voice. At least she wasn't mad. He started the car and pulled out of the parking space.

"I'm on my way right now, but we can't go to the restaurant for lunch. Something's come up."

"We're not having lunch?"

"No, we can have lunch, just not at the restaurant."

"Why not?"

"I'll explain when I get there." He looked over his shoulder and saw that Jaffer was sniffing the seatbelt that was hanging down on the rear passenger side. A bored dog is a dangerous dog when it comes to a car – Jack had told him that more than once – so Daniel tossed Jaffer a treat from the bag on the passenger seat. The lab abandoned the seatbelt and started munching the treat.

"Do you want me to make lunch?" Sally asked.

"Or we can go to my place, and I'll do it."

He wasn't a terrible cook.

"I'll make it." She decided. "You're on your way?"

"Yes. I'll be there in ten or fifteen minutes."

"I'll be here."

She hung up, and Daniel closed his phone, and looked over his shoulder at the black lab, who was now watching the bag of treats that was sitting next to Daniel – probably hoping one would magically jump out and try to escape.

"Well… she's not angry. That's good." He handed back another treat to Jaffer and headed for the main gate. "That's all you get, so eat it slowly."

Jaffer gobbled it immediately and watched Daniel intently, waiting for another. Yeah, yeah, it was all he was going to get. He knew better. He had the whole sad eyes thing down so well that no one could resist him. He just had to turn on the charm, that was all.

As Daniel left the gate, waved through by a Marine who wondered what the heck Jackson was doing with Colonel O'Neill's dog, the archeologist sighed and handed back yet another treat.

"Doesn't Jack feed you?"

OOOOOOOOO

"You want to stop for something to eat?"

Sam shook her head.

"We don't have time."

"We could make time, if you're hungry. The doctor would understand, I bet."

She smiled and rested her hand lightly on his thigh.

"I'm fine, Jack. We can eat later."

He nodded and they drove the rest of the way to the doctor's office in companionable silence, his hand on hers, holding it against his thigh.

Sam's primary doctor was – by necessity and convenience – Janet Fraiser. But since Janet wasn't an obstetrician, she'd referred her friend to Mari Sawyer, who was a long time friend of hers. Sam and Sawyer had gotten along well right from the start, with Maria assuring Sam that even though her last pregnancy had ended badly, they were going to do everything they had to to make sure that this one was perfect – right up to the delivery and beyond. Sam was reassured by Sawyer's competent demeanor and actions, and even Jack was fairly good around the doctor, although he wasn't fond of hospitals or doctors or any of that – Janet Fraiser and Monica Ray (Jaffer's vet) being the only exceptions.

They arrived at the office a few minutes early, and were ushered into a private waiting room where they signed in and were told Marie would be right with them. Sure enough, it was less than fifteen minutes before she came through the door, carrying a clipboard with a file on it, and smiling warmly at both of them.

"Sam, how are you?"

"I'm fine, Maria," Sam told her, taking her hand with a smile.

"Jack?"

O'Neill shrugged.

"Great."

"How's the baby? Any movements?"

"All the time," Sam told her, smiling again, but now for a different reason. "He's been pretty active lately."

"_She's_ been pretty active, lately," Jack corrected.

Maria smiled. She'd heard all about their differences of opinion on the sex of their baby, and it was amusing to her. Of course, she'd seen it all before, but she loved the way the two of them bantered about it – neither giving in, but neither hurting the other's feelings, either.

"We'll see if we can settle that argument for good," she told them, sitting down next to Sam. "But before the ultrasound, let's discuss a few other things, first – just to check your progress."

Sam nodded.

Maria turned to Jack.

"You might want to wait out in the other waiting room, Jack…"

"Why?"

"The questions are rather… pointed."

Jack shrugged.

"I'll stick around."

Maria nodded, and looked at Sam, then down at her clipboard.

"Any swelling of your ankles?"

"No."

That wasn't so bad, Jack decided.

"Backaches?"

"Just a few. Nothing too serious."

See? How bad was that?

"Have you had any discomfort or cramping during intercourse?"

Jack blushed, and stood up suddenly.

"You know… on second thought, I think I'll wait outside."

Both women smiled, and as the door closed behind him, Maria touched Sam's elbow with a grin.

"That one always gets them."


	3. 03

_Author's note: Okay, the doctor's name is Maria. I just can't type, and that's not a typo the spellchecker picks up for me! Sorry about the confusion._

OOOOOOOOO

"Wish me luck," Daniel told Jaffer, as he stopped in front of Sally's house twenty minutes later. He pulled a small box out of the glove compartment, and then got out of the car, came around and let Jaffer out, still attached to the leash so he wouldn't run off and get himself into trouble.

Jaffer rumbled happily, and was a perfect gentleman as the two of them walked up to the door – much to Daniel's surprise.

When Sally Longford opened the door, she couldn't hide the surprise on her face. She'd been expecting Daniel, and wasn't disappointed in that respect, but she wasn't expecting to see the hulking black dog that was standing beside him.

"What are you doing with him?" She asked curiously as she moved aside so they could both come in.

"Jack and Sam had a doctor's appointment, and he asked me to watch Jaffer," Daniel said, brushing a kiss against her cheek as he walked in. "That's why I was late. Jaffer wasn't happy being left behind when they left."

"I'll bet he wasn't," Sally said crouching down and greeting the lab with a hug that made Daniel wonder what it was about women that made them want to cuddle good looking dogs. Everywhere he'd ever gone with Jack some woman – or little kid, for that matter – always wanted to coddle and pet Jaffer. And of course, the lab loved it. "Poor baby… I'll bet you _hated_ being left, huh?"

Jaffer swiped her cheek with his tongue, reacting not only to the cuddling but also to the loving affection in her voice. Besides, he liked Sally. She smelled like Binky!

She dodged the tongue, but not fast enough, and released her grip on him to wipe her face, and with his affection passed out, Jaffer headed into the living room, strutting like he owned the place – which of course, he did.

A black form – just as pitch black as Jaffer with just a splash of white on her chest and nowhere near as large – was watching him come into the living room from her position on the back of the sofa. Jaffer spotted her immediately, and walked over, while Binky looked down at him, just making sure it was really the dog she liked and not some intruder that had no business being in _her_ house. She stretched her nose down to him as Jaffer strained to reach her with his nose, and a moment later Binky hopped down to the floor to twine herself between his front legs, purring loudly.

Sally watched them for a moment – just to make sure that Jaffer wasn't going to smoosh her baby, although he had always been careful with the cat – and then turned her attention to Daniel.

"How was your morning?"

"Fairly slow. Right up until I realized I was running behind and was in a hurry. Then it became hectic."

"Which is how it always happens." She agreed.

The two of them moved into the kitchen where Sally was boiling a pot of pasta that was going to become a pasta, chicken, vegetable dish when she was finished.

"I'm sorry about the change of plans," Daniel told her, sliding his arms around her from behind and hugging her lightly while he watched her stir the pasta.

"Well, it's not Chez Fiesta," Sally said, smiling and turning her head and stealing a kiss, "But I'm used to things not always going as planned when it comes to you, and you know I don't mind cooking."

"Which is one of the reasons I love you most," he told her.

"Because I cook?"

"Because you're forgiving."

"That's part of loving someone, Daniel," she told him, seriously, and then pushed him away. "Go amuse yourself while I finish this, and then we'll eat."

He did as he was told, knowing that she didn't like to be distracted while she was in the kitchen – that was how accidents happened, after all – and went into the living room, where Jaffer had Binky pinned down and was washing her ears.

"She can do that herself, you know?" He asked the lab as he went over and sat down on the couch. He was restless, though, and stood up almost immediately, going back to the kitchen.

"Can I help you with anything?"

She shrugged, looking up from slicing the cooked chicken. "You can set the table."

He did that, pulling plates and silverware from the cabinet and bringing them to the table that was in her breakfast nook – a bright sunny area that was just as nice as a dining room and far cozier. He set the plates out, and the napkins, and then the silverware, and then looked over to see if she was watching. She had her attention focused only on the meal in front of her, however, and Daniel pulled the little box out and set it down in the center of her plate. And looked at it for about ten seconds.

Then picked it up and put it back in his pocket.

And then pulled it out again, and looked back over at her. And set it down in the center of her plate, again.

And picked it up and started to put it back in his pocket. And then yelped in surprise and flinched when something cold and slimy touched his hand. The box went flying from his hand and landed on the kitchen floor just as Daniel realized the cold slimy thing was Jaffer's nose. The lab had come over to see what Daniel was doing, and had startled the already tense archeologist.

Sally looked down at the box, which had clattered to a rest almost at her feet.

OOOOOOOOOOO

"Colonel O'Neill?"

Jack looked up as the receptionist called his name, and then practically jumped to his feet when she beckoned for him to come with her. He'd been in the waiting room almost ten minutes, staring at a magazine he wasn't reading and trying to ignore the nervous excitement in his stomach. The ultrasound would be their first true indication of whether everything was going well with the baby. He was careful not to let Sam know just how worried he was about the child she was carrying, but the truth was, he was terrified of something going wrong. They'd already lost one baby, after all, and he didn't know how she would handle it if something happened to this one, too. As much as he wanted their baby, he wanted Sam happy more. And they'd find out today if everything was going good. The right amount of toes and fingers, and ears…

"Your wife is in examination room two," the receptionist told him, leading him back through the door. "They have everything set up for the ultrasound – but they didn't want to start without you."

He nodded, and followed her as she led him to a door with a large 2 on it. Obviously this was examination room two, huh? It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. The receptionist opened the door, but didn't go in. She merely gestured for Jack to. He walked in, and found Sam lying on a padded table; the hospital gown she was wearing pushed up to reveal her belly and a warm blanket covering her lower body. Beside the bed she was on was a stand with a blank monitor, and sitting on a stool beside the bed was Maria.

Both women smiled when he walked in, and Jack went over to stand by Sam, taking her hand in his.

"Are we ready?" Maria asked, turning on the monitor.

They both nodded.


	4. 04

"What's this?"

Sally bent down to pick up the little box – an automatic reaction when something lands at your feet, after all – but Jaffer was there first, following his own automatic reaction. Something in the kitchen had fallen on the floor, and that almost always meant food. He lunged for the box, snapping it up in his strong jaws before Sally could even get her hand close enough to worry about being bitten.

"_Jaffer_!"

Daniel's cry was a mixture of annoyance and concern. Annoyance because it was a damned expensive ring and he'd already done the whole _wait until my artifact comes through the dog's system and get it a few days later thing_ – not to mention he _needed_ that thing _today_ – and concern because the box was probably big enough to choke the lab, and Daniel couldn't even imagine trying to explain to Jack why he'd allowed his precious dog to be choked by a box he had no business getting anywhere near him.

"Drop it!"

Shocked by the note of command in the archeologist's voice, Jaffer did something he'd never done before when it came to Daniel. He obeyed him. The box fell to the kitchen floor, only slightly drooled on, and clattered at Sally's feet once more. The black lab looked over at Daniel, who was completely at a loss. He couldn't just go launching himself after the box, and there was no hiding it now. Even as Sally reached down once more to pick it up, Daniel cringed.

"What is this, Daniel?"

One thing was sure; it wasn't a _steak_, Jaffer could tell her. He moved as Daniel crossed the kitchen to come over and try to take the box from her.

"Um…"

She moved her hand away before he could take hold of the box, her mind suddenly freezing. She was a woman, after all, and she knew what these little boxes held usually. And her curiosity was definitely getting the better of her.

Her eyes were on him even as she brought her other hand up to hold the slightly slimy box while she opened it with the other. He had a helpless expression on his face, like he didn't know what to do, and Sally felt sorry for him without even knowing for sure what was wrong.

She looked down at the box, which was now open, and smiled. It was a ring – like she'd thought – but far more beautiful than she'd expected. She had half expected that it was maybe a forgotten Christmas present – or maybe a New Year's eve present or something. Neither occasion warranted such an exquisite ring, however. And this one was.

It was white gold – Sally's favorite – with a delicate trim of Black Hills gold and a sparkling diamond set in the middle that caught the light coming from the window of the breakfast nook and sent glimmering prisms against the soft velvet case that held the ring.

She looked up at him, a question in her eyes, and Daniel did the only thing he could think of.

He dropped to his knees.

"Sally? Will you marry me?"

"What?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

"What's _that_?"

Doctor Sawyer smiled, and ran a pen along the image on the monitor with on hand while the other held the flat scooping device over Sam's stomach.

"This is the head, right here, and this is the spine…"

Now that she was pointing things out, Jack was able to separate shadow from baby. And it was a perfect picture of the baby – once you knew what to look at.

"He's sucking his thumb…" Sam said in wonder, looking over at the monitor as well. Sure enough, one arm was bent, and the hand was pressed against the baby's mouth, and there was a clear sucking motion. "Amazing…"

"_She's_ sucking _her_ thumb," Jack corrected – even though he couldn't really tell one way or the other.

"It's a boy, Jack…"

Sam and Jack both looked at Maria, who smiled, and shook her head.

"Actually, I'm not sure what it is…" She pointed to where the baby had its knees bent at just the right angle to keep them from being able to see its sex. "Its shy…"

"Then it must be a girl," Jack proclaimed. "A boy would be more than willing to show the world what he's got."

"Hold on," Sawyer said, pulling the examination light down and aiming it at Sam's stomach.

"What are you doing?" She asked, curiously. The light wasn't even on – otherwise they'd be having a hard time seeing the picture on the monitor in the glare.

"Your baby is already sensitive to bright light," the doctor explained. "If I shine the light on your stomach, there's a chance he or she might turn away and give us a quick peek."

Clever.

They all three watched the monitor as the doctor turned the light on, and sure enough the baby moved. Unfortunately, Jack had a glare from the light and couldn't see, and Sam wasn't positive what she'd seen. A second later the baby had its back to the three, and all they could see was what was obviously a butt. Both parents turned to the doctor.

"Well?"

Maria shrugged.

"I can't be positive. The leg was still in the way when it turned."

"What do you _think_ it was?" Jack pressed. "Did you see any outdoor plumbing?" How hard was it to see that? At least, if you knew what to look for.

"I didn't see anything," Maria admitted. "But-" She held up a hand when Jack's expression turned gloating and excited. "That doesn't mean it wasn't there. I'm not going to say it's a girl."

"Well how about if we roll Sam over and shine the light on her back? Maybe the baby will turn again and you can get a better look…?"

Sawyer smiled and shook her head.

"It doesn't work that way, Jack." She looked down at her clipboard. "'Sex of baby; unknown.'"

"Awwww…" Jack looked at the monitor again, and then tapped Sam's stomach tenderly. "Hey! Turn around kiddo."

"He's ignoring you," Sam told him, smiling, and looking at the monitor. "Might as well get used to it…"

Jack scowled, and pressed his cheek against her belly, avoiding the lube that the doctor had spread on her stomach to slide the scooping device.

"Lily, this is your _dad_ speaking…"

"_Lily_?"

Jack ignored Sam.

"Turn around and give us a peek at-"

Sam giggled suddenly, and Jack looked up. Her and Maria were both looking at the monitor where the baby had moved once more – now its hands were covering its ears.

"Hey!" He scowled, and looked at the doctor, who shrugged.

"At this stage, his or her hearing is just fine, and noises can be annoying to them. Remember, she's in fluid, and-"

"_He's_ in fluid," Jack corrected.

"_It's_ in fluid," Maria corrected. "Sounds travel in fluids like that, so when you speak to Sam's belly, use gentle tones." She continued looking at the monitor, and smiled at Sam. "Everything else looks great, Sam. I count ten toes and fingers, and nothing looks like it shouldn't. He's perfect."

"Of course he is," Sam said, taking Jack's hand, and squeezing it. She couldn't help but feel a little weepy, and Jack reached out and tenderly brushed away the tear that ran down her cheek.

"Look at who she has for a mom," he murmured, the doctor's presence forgotten as he met Sam's gaze. "How could she be anything but?"


	5. 05

Author's Note: Merry Christmas!!!

OOOOOOOOO

Daniel cleared a throat that was suddenly dry, and wondered if she could hear the pounding of his heart – it seemed deafening to him.

"I… um… _wasn't_ going to ask you like this," he told her, looking up at her, and then over at Jaffer, who had flopped down at the edge of the breakfast nook and was watching the two of them, and then back at her. "I had it all planned out… fancy lunch, and then a flowery speech about how much I love you and want you to-"

"Daniel."

He was rambling. She smiled, because even if she hadn't known him as well as she did, it was impossible to miss the nervousness in his expression and his body language. She knelt down next to him, the ring box in one hand and her other hand coming to rest on his arm.

"Are you sure about this? Your wife-"

"Sha're is dead," Daniel said, softly, taking her hand. She could see the hurt in his eyes when he said it, but she could also see the resolution there as well. His jaw clenched for just a moment, but then he shook his head, and squeezed her hand. "I _can't_ live in the past. I've seen what it did… _can do_… to people, and I don't want to be alone because of an inability to move on. I certainly don't want to miss out on the greatest thing that could happen to me…"

"What's that?" she asked.

"You."

She felt an odd feeling deep inside her when he said that. Not just love, but a mixture of pride – in him, for being able to move on, and in herself for being the object of the affection of such a man – and hope. She'd never mentioned marriage to him – not even when his best friends got married – because she'd never been sure if he'd be able to get over the tragic loss of his wife, and she didn't want to rush him into making a mistake that would hurt them both, and ruin what they _did_ have. Obviously, though, Daniel had been considering it – even though he hadn't mentioned it, either.

"Daniel…"

"You know what I am," he said, interrupting. "I mean… you know that I might not always be home by 6 every day, and that I might miss a few dinners or other appointments…" Hadn't he almost missed this one, after all? "But I love you, Sally… and I'll do whatever it takes to make you happy."

"Is this part of the flowery speech you had prepared?" She asked him, her eyes telling him the answer that he hadn't heard from her lips, yet.

He nodded, "It's part of it… do you want to hear the rest?"

She smiled and shook her head, feeling the stinging of tears.

"I didn't even need to hear that much, Daniel. Of course I'll marry you."

It took him a moment to understand – and believe – that she'd actually just said yes, and Daniel looked at her, stunned once it sank in.

"You will?"

She laughed, and he managed to wake up enough to wrap his arms around her, pulling her close and kissing her. Sally held him just as tightly; the two of them both grinning, now, and the ring box clasped tightly in her hand as she hugged him.

"I love you, Daniel."

He pulled back just enough to meet her eyes, and the look of love in his expression was for her, and her only. He took the ring box from her hand, removed the ring from it, and took her hand, sliding the ring on her finger while he watched her.

"I lov-"

A loud hissing sound from above them made both of them look up, and then dodge out of the way as the pasta in the pot started boiling over furiously, water cascading out of the pan and down the front of the stove.

"Crap!"

Sally got to her feet and pulled the pot off the burner while Daniel reached for the control knob to turn the heat down.

"Are you all right?"

She nodded, and waited until the bubbling water simmered once more back into the confines of the pan before turning back to him, smiling ruefully.

"_I'm_ fine, but the pasta's scorched… it's probably not going to be very good…"

He pulled her into his arms, hugging her close, and feeling relief and happiness flood through him. He didn't care about lunch. How could he!? She'd just agreed to be his wife, for Heaven's sake. He felt practically giddy.

"We can go get something."

She smiled and ran her hand lightly along his side, her cheek resting against his shoulder.

"_Or_… we can find something else to do to amuse ourselves, and eat later…"

Her touch was enough to take his mind off lunch entirely, and Daniel turned his head and kissed her.

"Or we could find something else to do to amuse ourselves..." he agreed.

"Iknow just the thing…" she told him, taking his hand and leading him out of the kitchen and past Jaffer, who was watching them, still, hoping someone was going to drop something. As they walked past the living room without even stopping, the lab snorted, and stood up, heading back to Binky with his leash still trailing behind him. That was fine. They could ignore him. Sally had lots of interesting stuff in her house and he was certain _he_ could find something to do to amuse himself…

OOOOOOOO

"_I'm_ not amused…"

Sam laughed, and ran her finger along the side of her belly, watching the monitor to see if the baby was reacting to her touch. The little hands came down from the side of the baby's head, but the thumb went back towards the tiny mouth and there was no change in the position. He still had his back to mom and dad and the doctor, and there was no sign that he was going to turn for them anytime soon.

"He's got a cute butt…" Sam said. "Just like his daddy."

Jack couldn't help but grin at that, even though he didn't necessarily need Doctor Sawyer to know he had a cute butt.

"She."

"He."

"She."

"He."

"_It_." Maria said. She smiled when the two of them turned towards her,"We'll do another ultrasound a few weeks before the delivery date when we make sure the baby is in the right position, and we'll probably get a better look then."

Jack grumbled, but there wasn't a whole lot he could do about it.

"Stubborn little punk kid…"

"I wonder who he gets that from?" Sam said.

Maria grinned, and looked over at Jack.

"You can go ahead and go out into the hall for a few minutes while I get Sam cleaned up and then she gets dressed. Then I'll call you in so we can talk about what she can do and what she shouldn't be doing for the remainder of her pregnancy."

He didn't even argue this time. Jack leaned over and kissed Sam, then took another look at the monitor where his _daughter_ was still mooning her parents, and kissed her again.

"I'll be right back."

She nodded, and gave him a smile.

"Greg and I will be waiting."

"_Greg_?" Jack smiled and ran his hand along her belly, this time getting it slimy with the lube that Sawyer had used on Sam's stomach. He didn't even notice as he felt the baby's little body under his fingers. "_Angela_…"

"Larry."

Maria shooed Jack away from the table.

"Lisa."

"Jack Junior."

"No chance in hell." He gave her another soft smile – one of those that were reserved only for her – and left the room. There was time. He'd come up with the perfect little girl name, yet. That butt was a _girl_ butt – he was positive. And he was never wrong. Most of the time.


	6. 06

"Daniel…?"

Sally's amused and gentle voice pulled him out of a half-doze, and he cuddled her closer, her bare skin warm and soft against his. She pulled away, though, and nudged him.

"Daniel… wake up. Your cell phone is ringing."

"What?"

Now that she mentioned it, he was vaguely aware of the distant sounding ringing.

"Tell them to go away…" he muttered, reaching for her again, and refusing to open his eyes, because he didn't want to wake up. He was warm and comfortable, and exactly where he wanted to be.

"It might be important."

Yeah. It might be. He opened his eyes and rolled towards the sound of the ringing – rolling over Sally in the process, although she didn't mind at all. In fact, her hand was very pleasant as it ran along his hip as he reached for his slacks and pulled the still ringing phone out of the pocket.

"Yeah?"

"Where are you?"

"Jack?"

"Yeah."

"What do you want?"

There was a pause. An incredulous pause, as if Jack couldn't believe Daniel was even asking that question.

"I was kind of thinking I'd like Jaffer back…"

Daniel sat up, wide awake, now.

"Oh!" He looked around, as if expecting the lab to be standing by the door, cheerfully waiting to be taken back to Jack. Of course, he wasn't – and that suddenly made Daniel extremely nervous. He reached for his strewn clothing, looking at Sally, who was still sprawled on the bed, but was watching him. "Um… you're done at the doctor's?"

"Just got finished."

"How was it?"

He was buying time, trying to find his underwear.

"I'll tell you about it when we pick Jaffer up. Where are you?"

"I'm with Sally…"

Jack picked up on the hesitation immediately. He didn't need to be face to face with Daniel to know something was up, and he was immediately suspicious.

"Daniel…?" There was a hint of warning in Jack's tone, now.

"Yeah, Jack?"

There they were! Under the bed. Daniel grabbed his underwear and pulled them on, sticking his tongue out when Sally started giggling behind her hand.

"You didn't let anything happen to Jaffer, did you?"

"What?" Daniel grabbed his pants and started sliding them on. "Of course not. I'm surprised you even had to ask th-"

"What's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Where's my dog?"

"Ask him what sex the baby is," Sally said, handing Daniel his shirt and then getting out of bed and starting to dress.

"Sally wants to know what sex the baby is."

"It's a girl," Jack said.

"We don't know that for sure, Daniel!" He heard Sam call in the background. "It's a boy!"

"They don't know, I think." Daniel told Sally, sliding his bare feet in his loafers. He'd find his socks later.

"Where are you?" Jack asked again. "At Sally's?"

"Um…" He looked over at her, taking a second to admire her body as she was dressing – a second he really didn't have. "Where are you guys?"

"We're just leaving the doctor's office," Jack said, sounding more annoyed now than suspicious. "We'll meet you wherever you are."

Daniel was doing quick math in his head, trying to figure out how long that would give him. He looked over at Sally, who was almost dressed, and nodded – even though Jack couldn't see that.

"Okay. We're at Sally's house."

Besides, Sally would want to hear all about the doctor's appointment – and maybe tell Sam and Jack their big news, as well.

"You're sure everything's all right?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, it's fine." Daniel walked out of Sally's room and down the hallway towards the living room. "We're…"

He trailed off, his eyes going wide as he took in the scene in the living room, and his jaw dropping.

"…oh my God…"

"Daniel?"

He'd never really seen first hand the damage that Jaffer could do. He'd heard about it a few times – mostly from Sam, who loved to tell tales of when the lab was younger and teething, and everything had been fair game – but hadn't really believed that a bored dog could really wreak such havoc. Now he knew better.

Sally's couch was leather. It was three years old and in fairly good shape – considering Binky loved to hang out on it and her claws were fairly sharp and often left tiny marks in the fabric – and one small hole. _Had_ been in fairly good shape, anyways. It was shredded, now. There was a large rip in the cushiony backrest, and all the stuffing that made it so cushiony had been pulled out. And strewn all over the rest of the house, making it look like it had snowed in the living room, breakfast nook and even the kitchen.

The coffee table legs had all been gnawed on, and the lever that reclined Sally's recliner was completely gone – either chewed off, or simply eaten, Daniel wasn't sure. Jaffer was sprawled on the shredded couch, chewing on his leash – which had somehow become tangled in lever that reclined the end of the sofa and was tight enough that Daniel initially worried it might be tugging on his collar and choking him, until he moved and the stunned archeologist saw that there was a bit of slack – and was almost through it. And Binky was lounging in a pile of the couch stuffing, watching Daniel when he came into the living room with half his attention, and watching Jaffer with the other half.

"Daniel?"

The worry in Jack's voice pulled Daniel's attention back to the phone.

"Yeah, Jack…"

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah…"

"Is Sally?"

"Yeah…"

Except that she was going to kill him.

"Is Jaffer?"

"He's fine…"

There was silence on the other end of the phone. And then Jack proved once more that he was practically a mind psychic when it came to his dog.

"What did he do?"

"You'll never believe it…"

Daniel couldn't, anyways.

"We'll be right there."

Jack hung up the phone, just as Sally came walking down the hallway, pulling her dark hair back into a ponytail. Daniel turned just in time to see her eyes widen as she took in the mess, and he grimaced.

"I probably should have given him his chew toy, huh…?"


	7. 07

She took it far better than Daniel expected her to. He watched as her eyes took in the disaster that had once been her couch, watched as they lingered on the coffee table legs – one of which looked as though it had been almost completely chewed through (the others simply bore tooth marks) – and then saw her look at the recliner lever – which was simply gone. She looked at Binky, who had looked over at her when she'd made her appearance, but the jet-black cat didn't look any more apologetic than Jaffer did. Of course, she probably didn't do any of the damage, either, and didn't have any reason to be sorry.

"I'll buy you new furniture," Daniel told her apologetically, putting his arm around her.

Sally gave him a weak smile, and walked into the living room, and Jaffer stopped chewing on his leash and watched her, his tail thumping cheerfully as she came closer, the motion sending couch stuffing flying off the sofa and onto the coffee table and floor.

"It can probably be fixed…" Sally said, reaching down and untangling Jaffer's leash from the lever it was snagged on.

"You think so?' Daniel asked, uncertainly, walking into the room as well.

"Well… not the couch…" Sally said, picking up some of the stuffing that Binky was lying on. "And probably not the coffee table…"

"Or the lever to the recliner…" Daniel said, fingering the chewed off stub.

"I can't believe he did this in such little time…" Sally said, looking around again and then looking down at Jaffer. "_You're_ bad."

Since her tone didn't sound at all disapproving, Jaffer had a hard time taking that seriously. The tail wagged even harder, and the stuffing flew even further. Yeah. He was bad. He was soooo bad.

"Jack and Sam are on their way…" Daniel said, picking up a handful of the couch filling, and wondering if he could stuff it back into the couch.

Sally sighed, and looked around the room once more.

"We can take them to lunch," she said. "But first, I need a shower. _You_ should probably take him outside and see if he needs to go, or something."

"What about this?" Daniel asked.

"We'll clean it up later. It's not going anywhere."

Daniel shook his head and walked over and tried to take the leash from Jaffer's mouth, but the lab clamped his jaws down tight, his eyes bright and playful. Yeah, he looked guilty, didn't he?

"Give it to me, Jaffer," Daniel told him, tugging on it. It was a mistake, because Jaffer simply tugged back, figuring that Daniel was playing with him – and Jaffer loved a good game of tug of war.

The archeologist made an annoyed noise, but he wasn't really any more annoyed than Sally was. They were both too shell-shocked to be anything but stunned, and add in the remaining euphoria from the last hour or so, combined with the whole engagement thing, and even a torn up living room and an unrepentant dog weren't enough to ruin things for them.

He tugged again, and Jaffer made the low growl that Daniel had frequently heard him make when playing with Jack.

Sally laughed, knowing that Daniel wasn't going to win that round. She rested her hand lightly on his shoulder for a moment to get his attention.

"I'll be back in a few minutes."

"I'll be here."

He wasn't going anywhere, apparently. He tugged on the leash.

OOOOOOOOO

"I'm sure it's not as bad as Daniel made it sound," Sam said, smiling slightly.

"He made it sound bad."

"He's probably exaggerating. How much trouble could Jaffer have caused with Sally and Daniel both right there?"

Jack shrugged, considering that, while Sam went back to looking at the picture that Doctor Sawyer had taken of the ultrasound monitor. On the image was a perfect picture of their baby sucking his thumb – it'd been taken before the baby had moved positions.

Jack glanced over when Sam fell silent, and smiled to himself as he turned back to the road. He'd seen the picture, and even though he didn't have anywhere near the memory Ian Brooks did, he could have told anyone who asked exactly what position the baby was in in it, and what hand was being lifted, and any other number of details.

"You're probably right," Jack said, shrugging. "They wouldn't have let him get too out of control…" Jaffer could be a handful, but if he was doing something he knew he wasn't supposed to be doing, and Daniel had told him to stop, he would have stopped. He wasn't a bad dog. Just… easily bored.

"Of course I'm right," Sam told him, not looking up from the picture as they turned a corner, almost to Sally's house, now. "I am a genius, after all."

OOOOOOOO

In the end, it took four pieces of sliced chicken to get Jaffer to relinquish his hold on the leash. Daniel had almost succeeded on the first piece, but he hadn't counted on Binky coming over to investigate what Jaffer was being bribed with, and when the archeologist's attention was on the cat – who was suddenly meowing as if she hadn't eaten in months – the dog had managed to swipe two pieces out of his hand without so much as grazing Daniel's skin with those sharp teeth.

"What? Did you two _plan_ this?" Daniel muttered, jerking his hand away from Jaffer and glaring at the cat, who was still waiting for her piece of chicken and was yowling like there was someone pulling her tail.

He gave Binky her chicken, and took the leash from Jaffer, and examined it, debating whether it was sturdy enough to actually use or if he should just wait for Jack to come and take the dog out himself. _Jack_ wouldn't have to worry about Jaffer running off, after all.

Then he heard a car door slam outside – and Jaffer's head turned sharply as he heard it as well. And then another door. The lab's tail started wagging excitedly, and Jaffer launched himself off the sofa, past Daniel who suddenly found the end of the leash jerked out of his hand once more, and to the door, where he made a low woofing noise and waited.

Sure enough, a moment later there was a knock on the door.

Daniel went over to the door and stepped on the trailing end of the leash – just in case it wasn't Jack and Sam – and then opened the door. Jaffer sprang out the door, swarming Jack excitedly, and Jack knelt down and caught the lab in a rough embrace, holding him tightly – both because he was happy to see him, and because it was a good way to keep the dog from accidentally knocking Sam over in his excitement.

"There's my boy!"

Sam watched them for a moment, and then looked over at Daniel.

"How was he?"

Without a word, the archeologist opened the door further, and gestured for Sam to go inside. Which she did. And then she stopped abruptly.

"Oh my…"


	8. 08

Jack caught the soft awe in Sam's voice immediately – even through his greeting with Jaffer – and let the lab go with a final happy thump on the side, and followed his wife through the door. Into recognizable chaos.

"Wow…"

He looked at Daniel, who didn't seem to know what to say, and then walked the rest of the way into the living room, stopping at the couch and looking at it, since it was the epicenter of the mess. Binky watched him from where she was sitting, and Jack reached down and scooped her into his arms, one hand on her chest holding her upright, and the other under her butt to support her as he looked at her.

"You're a _bad_ kitty…"

She looked back at him, completely unconcerned and unrepentant.

Sam smiled and walked over, noticing immediately the chewed up legs of the coffee table.

"I doubt she's the one that tried to take the legs off the table, Jack."

"She's the one, Sam," Jack said. "I'm sure of it. My perfect angel of a dog would _never_ think of doing such a thing…"

Sam looked over at Daniel as Jack set Binky back down the back of the sofa.

"How did he manage to make such a mess in such a short amount of time?"

Daniel hesitated, and was relieved to see Sally walking into the living room just then, wearing a pair of jeans that clung attractively to her hips and long legs, and a sweatshirt that Daniel had given her for Christmas. Jack noticed her entry as well.

"Sally, don't worry. We'll buy you new furniture…"

Sally had had time in the shower to get over her shock, even though she was still amazed at the scope of the damage. To Daniel's relief, she was able to smile at Jack.

"It wasn't his fault, completely, Jack," she said, shrugging. "I-"

"_See_?" Jack said, picking up the cat once more. "I told you it was Binky."

Sally's smile grew, and Daniel stepped forward.

"You don't have to buy the new furniture, Jack. This was my fault. I was supposed to be watching him, and I didn't do a very good job of it. I-"

"He's chewed up his leash," Sam said, noticing the leash trailing behind Jaffer was thoroughly gnawed on. She reached down and unsnapped the leash from the lab's collar, examining it. But Jack had noticed something else.

He set Binky down and reached out and took Sally's hand – so quickly and smoothly that it reminded the woman just what he did for a living, since she wouldn't have been able to stop him if she'd seen it coming and had tried to avoid the grab.

"What's this?" He asked her, looking down at the ring on her finger. A ring _he_ knew well, since he'd helped Daniel pick it out months ago.

Sally smiled brilliantly – almost as brilliantly as the diamond set in the ring – and Sam came over to see what Jack had noticed. Her face lit up and she took Sally's hand from Jack and looked over at Daniel, and then at Sally.

"Is it what I think it is?" She asked. The ring hadn't been there on Christmas, she knew. So it wasn't a present.

"Daniel asked me to marry him," Sally told her.

Jack looked over at Daniel, who flushed, slightly, even though he smiled.

Sam squealed with happiness – a sound more fitting for a teenager hearing that her first crush was going to ask her out, although it made Jack smile – and she grabbed Sally up in a hug.

"Congratulations!"

Sally hugged her back, careful not to squeeze too tight.

"Thanks."

"So… to celebrate, you decided to let Jaffer tear up your house…?" Jack asked.

Sally grinned sheepishly and released Sam, who went over and hugged Daniel, kissing his cheek.

"Of course not."

"Then…?"

He was still confused, although Sam suddenly figured it out, and started giggling, giving Daniel a pointed look that made him blush – confirming her guess.

"We got… _distracted_…" the archeologist said, his cheeks turning about as red as Jack had ever seen them. "And… sort of forgot about Jaffer's partiality to chewing on things…"

Jack wasn't dumb. He wasn't quite as quick to pick up on it as Sam was, but he understood, now, and the amused gleam in his brown eyes clearly told Daniel he'd never hear the end of this one.

"Distracted, huh? And out of sight, or he'd never have been allowed near a recliner lever – since you have both seen the lever on our chair at home."

He made a show of pretending to try and think things through, taking up Jaffer's leash and tapping the end of it against his chin, thoughtfully.

"I wonder what you could _possibly_ have been doing that would-"

"Jack…"

Sam smiled and put her arm on his to stop him.

"What?" He gave her an innocent look that was ruined by the twinkle of amusement in his eyes. Oh it was time for payback! How many sex jokes had he had to put up with from Daniel? How many sly little comments? A _gazillion_ of them! And now it was his turn! "I was just trying to figure out what they could have been _doing_ – and _where_ they could have been… _doing it_… to have left Jaffer and Binky unsupervised long enough that they managed to destroy so much of the-"

"So! How was the doctor's appointment, Sam?" Daniel asked, abruptly, causing Sally to giggle despite the fact that she was blushing just as badly as Daniel was.

They were all grownups, of course, and while it was true she was embarrassed, she was _hardly_ mortified. After all, she was fairly certain she knew where Jack and Sam had first started their own relationship – at least the physical side of it – and if all else failed and the teasing got too bad, she'd bring up the bushes at summer camp and a game of Capture the Flag.

"It was good, Daniel," Sam said, smiling, and allowing the subject to be changed. She started to say something else, but Sally put her hand on Sam's arm, stopping her.

"Why don't we go have lunch?" She suggested. "And you can tell us all about it? I'm dying to hear what the doctor said…"

"And you're probably pretty hungry…" Jack added, unable to help himself.

Daniel blushed again, but Sally simply smiled and put her arm around Jack's waist, heading for the door. She whispered something in his ear, and although Sam couldn't hear it from where she was standing beside Daniel in the middle of the living room still, she did see the reaction. Jack's ears turned a bright shade of crimson, and he chuckled.

Wondering what she'd said, Sam didn't have a chance to ask. Daniel's arm was suddenly sliding around her waist, and he leaned over and kissed her cheek, feeling happier than he could ever remember being.

"It's never happened to you two?"

"The Jaffer thing?" Sam asked, clarifying.

"Yeah."

"Oh, goodness, yes." She smiled. "But not in a long time. I really thought he'd grown out of this…" she took another look at the living room as they walked to the front door. "Why didn't you bring a chew toy to distract him?"

Daniel sighed, and looked at the chew toy that was sitting by the bags of treats on the stand by the TV.

Yes... why hadn't he?


	9. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"I don't know, Jack…"

Daniel was looking at the picture of the ultrasound, and frowning.

"Don't know what?"

"It doesn't really _look_ like a girl butt."

Jack scowled and snatched the picture away.

"Yeah? What do _you_ know about baby butts?"

Sam reached over and took the picture back, looking at it once more.

"Look at the muscles," she said, smiling. "It has to be a boy."

"It didn't show _anything_?" Sally asked, taking a sip of her coffee. They hadn't gone to lunch. Instead, they'd bought take out and had gone back to Jack and Sam's – where the furniture was still padded – and had been sitting around talking, and passing around the ultrasound picture.

Sam shook her head.

"He was hiding from us."

"_She_ was being shy," Jack said.

"He turned, but Doctor Sawyer said the leg was up the entire time," Sam explained. "So she wasn't sure if there was anything to see or not, and she refused to say one way or the other."

"So you still can't paint the room…?" Daniel asked, speaking of the workshop that was being converted into a nursery. Jack and Sam had plans to build an addition onto the house as well, but the work on that wasn't going to start until spring, and they wanted the baby's room up and ready long before they actually needed it.

"We can paint it yellow, or light green or something like that," Sam said, shrugging. "Just not pink or blue."

"We can paint it pink," Jack mumbled, stubbornly.

Sam smiled at him.

"What did the doctor say about the rest of it?" Daniel asked, curiously. "When do you have to stop working?"

"I have to start limiting how much strain I put my body through," Sam admitted. "Which means I'll have to cut down on missions, and do more lab work." She wasn't happy about that, but her and Jack had known it was coming, and it was a sacrifice she was willing to make for the safety of their baby. And one that _Jack_ would make sure she made – for her own safety. He wasn't going to risk her.

"What do you think Hammond will do?" Daniel asked. "Pull us from the field? Or give us a replacement?"

Jack shrugged; he was going to have to discuss that with the General, but there wasn't a huge hurry. It would wait until the New Year, anyways. He wasn't keen on a replacement – no matter how temporary – and he really didn't think they'd need one. He, Teal'c and the dogs should be plenty to keep Daniel safe, and Jack wasn't looking forward to the idea of training someone new. He wasn't really all that patient when it came to training, after all. And come to think of it, he didn't like new people all that much, either.

"Who knows?"

"Too bad Ian isn't older." Daniel said. "He'd probably learn a lot coming with us."

"Or his mouth might get us in a lot of trouble, and start _wars_," Jack said, smiling. He agreed, though; it _was_ too bad Ian wasn't older – or Shawn, for that matter. Those two he wouldn't mind training.

"Not River?" Sally asked, curiously.

Sam shook her head.

"River doesn't want to do anything but fly."

"Whereas Ian will do anything _but_ fly," Daniel added.

"He's afraid to fly?"

"He's afraid to _crash_," Jack corrected, taking the picture once more and looking at it. It sure looked like a girl to him. "Shouldn't we be able to count ribs or something, and see what it is?" he asked the room in general.

"I don't think so."

"Just think of the suspense," Daniel said. "You get four and a half more months of trying to guess if that's really a piece of the umbilical cord, or if it's something else."

Jack scowled.

"It's not _something else_, Daniel."

"Are you sure there's only one baby?" Sally asked, taking the picture once more. "My sister in law had twins, and one was so much smaller than the other that he managed to hide behind his brother during the ultrasounds. They didn't even know he was there until he was delivered."

Sam frowned and took the picture from her friend, looking at it carefully. She didn't see anything to suggest an extra baby.

"Maria would have heard two heartbeats, though, right?"

Sally shrugged.

"They didn't with my nephews. Of course, that was years ago. I'm sure the technology is more advanced, now."

"I hope so," Sam said, making a face – that made Jack smile. "I don't think I could handle having twins."

"Twice the fun," Daniel said.

"Twice the love," Sally added, grinning.

"Twice the shitty diapers," Jack told them both, scowling. "One baby is plenty for us – at least right now." He looked over at Sam to see if she agreed, and was glad she was nodding.

"Besides," Sam said. "I only see one baby – and I'm pretty sure I can count that high."

"It was just a thought," Sally told her, smiling. "You never know…"

"Speaking of thoughts…" Jack said, looking over at Jaffer, who was chewing a large chew bone. "Have you two decided when you're going to get married? Or were you too busy practicing the honeymoon?"

They both flushed – much to Jack's amusement – and Sally looked at Daniel.

"We talked about it, but we're not in any hurry."

"Don't make any plans for next Christmas," Daniel added.

"That long?" Sam asked.

Daniel shrugged.

"We're going to wait a while, at least. There's a few reasons, but mainly, we just don't want to rush things…"

Since they'd been dating for a million years already, Jack didn't think they really had to worry about people accusing them of rushing things. However, since he and Sam had waited just as long – and longer – he knew he wasn't the one to mention it. And to judge by the amused glance Sam sent him, she was thinking the same thing.

"Well, don't make any plans for this weekend," Jack said, looking at Sally.

"Oh?"

"You and I need to go furniture shopping…" Jack said, looking over at Jaffer once more, and smiling indulgently at the lab, who looked up at just the right time to meet Jack's gaze with his own cheerful brown eyes. Yeah… he probably didn't need any help from Binky, did he? Jack turned back to Sally and the others.

"We'll take Daniel along, too – as long as the two of you promise not to test drive the sofas…"

**The End!**

_So, another one down… which means another will begin soon. This one was pretty much just for fun – although we also needed to have an advancement of Sam's pregnancy, and of course, it's high time Daniel proposed to Sally! Let me know what you thought, if you would!_


End file.
